Buddhist Temple and Shinto Shrine Writing....

By this point, I realize that life is not as hurried in Japan as it has been in Tokyo. I am having a hard time finding a way to make things new to you, my audience, as a result. We have been sojourning to many a temple finding that the journey is more the focus than is the destination. Yes, I have taken pictures and written poems as a result of these outings. Nevertheless, I don't think that these experiences can be summed up through writing. So, with a humble grain of salt, I give you my pictures and my words to try give some small glimpse into the beauty that is the temples and shrines of Japan...

 This is the amazing view of a river from the walk to Ishiyamadera temple. This temple claims the inspiration of Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji. As to whether those rumors are true, no one really knows.

 This is a pictures of me at the Ishiyamadera picture taken by Jonny MacNish. The boy is attached to his camera like a child is attached to their binky. He has over 900 pictures at this point.

 This is the amazing couple/professors that are leading our classroom discussions. Dr. Paine and Dr. Stover are affectionately known by the group as "Dad and Mom". Thanks Dorian!

 This is another view of the mountain on which Ishiyamadera sits. This is our friend Erin.

 I was amazed to see this number of stairs in front of a house. Talk about motivation to want to see your friends.

 Although this looks like a generic mountain view, this is our first official mountain "climbing". We had class on the top of Mt. Hiei, so we could not climb up the mountain. We did take the treacherous path back down the mountain, but I refused to try to take pictures and fall gracefully at the same time. Mt. Hiei was pretty beautiful, but the best part about it was meeting our English friend Gregory.

 This is Dustin, Sean, and I at the top of Mt. Hiei. One mountain down, many more to go.

 The first shrine that we saw on Mt. Hiei at the Enryakuji temple was this amazing gold Buddha. The embellishment is detailed and shines even brighter in real life. The militaristic style of Buddhism occurring at the temple, Tendai, was reflected in the journey to the top through challenging paths up the mountain.

 How many Belmont classes can say they have had a classroom right outside a Buddhist temple? Only one. The special one. Us.

 On the way down from Mt. Hiei, this is a small glimpse of the view that we saw.

 The Inari shrine is one the largest and most iconic in all of Japan. With its thousands, yes I do mean thousands, of torii gates, the Inari shrine has interest visually as much as naturally as artificial. this is the entrance to the shrine. Inari is known by the fox statues throughout the complex and the rice wine (sake) that is drank as a sign of the rice bounty. For the guys and I, the sake was too expensive to drink all ourselves...

 This is just one sliver of the number of torii gates throughout the Inari complex. On the way down from this mountain, somewhere we took a wrong turn and ended up skipping half of the shrine. Instead, we got lost and figured that we were near the next stop on the train, rather than the one that we departed to go to the Inari shrine. Overall, the view made it all worth it...

I know that these pictures are not nearly as interesting and stimulating as the pictures from Tokyo, but I don't think that any of it can do the journey the justice. I know that Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are a foreign and somehow "trendy" spiritual idea in the Western mind... but experiencing them, brings a whole new light into being.

In the course of doing these journeys, I have realized that I would like to climb as many mountains as possible in my life, both in the physical world and in the metaphorical. The challenges exist, but one way or another, they can be conquered. Now, that's not to say that your legs, arms, brain, and heart won't pay for it. Doing this trip, has prepared me for all the hikes.... long, short, steep, or level... bring it on.